For those disappointed with the flimsiness of the deluxe version, this new mold just might be your flavor of choice for the character. The figure has tight joints and all of the basic articulation of the deluxes. Bending elbows and knees, with a pivoting head. It lacks wrist and waist swivels, but that is becoming more and more common with deluxe toys, so it is not such a noticeable failing. It has hollow legs in the back, but again, this is a trait of the deluxe version as well. The vehicle mode has more cohesion than the deluxe. The red paint matches, and it actually rolls. However, the stark blue windows are a bit too cartoony. It lacks a lot of visual flair of its larger counterpart on its own (although there is the addition of some gold paint that really pops), but this is made up for with the armor. I've seen a lot of "armored-up" editions of toys, and rarely does the design of the armor blend so well with the base figure. This is in the vein of Samurai Prowl from Animated, where the armor design enhances what is already there. The orange and red go so well together, and the eastern aesthetics match the character's ninja training. The claws look great, and are a nice alternative to the ubiquitous swords that populate the line. If you wish, you can combine all the elements of the armor to form a single weapon that resembles a sword with jaws. It's ridiculously large for the figure, but the sturdiness of the construction allows it to be held with ease. Slightly larger than a commander class legends toy, it does not scale well with some of its deluxe brethren. It is dwarfed by the deluxe Bumblebee and Strongarm. However, it also scales perfectly with deluxes that should be voyagers, such as RID Prime and Grimlock here. Sideswipe comes with a Decepticon minicon that forms what looks like a miniature Cybertron. It transforms into a good stand-in for ratbat. Nice detailing and personality. All in all, I give it an 8.5/10. Great playability with the armor options and the minicon. I hope they release a Bumblebee and Strongarm to go with him so that I can form the whole team in this scale.
I found one of these the other day. VERY fun lil figure. Slightly bigger than commander class, Almost Scout class. Car pegs together real nice. Robot mode is just fantastic. Articulation Like a lil action figure. The Armor parts are great, but I think Ill paint the face of mine Saltin Black, with red details. Not a huge fan of the clear gold. Ill buy all these. The minicon is a throwaway..but a lil TF with accessories like a weapon and armor the size of a Joe figure?!?! This shit is ALL me. I love these. edit* I love the flip down helmet part. Very cool, and my son was pretty stoked when he seen that.
There is also a shuriken that attaches to the shoulder wheel and can spin like a buzzsaw. Lots of nice features.
Pretty good review IMHO I like my Sideswipe as well. Yeah BB & Grim's sets are looking like a Jan release. Yay, I'm not the only one wanting Strongarm I'm hoping she's part of wave 3. Sorry, keeping mine & they were about $15 a set for me (BBTS)
$14.99 at TRU. If these were $9.99 sans Minicon I think they would sell better. Sideswipe looked better than Prime when I saw these in person last week.
Sure they'd sell better but these sets use more plastic than the legends two-packs (main figure is bigger & while the minicons are roughly the same height as the "partners" were, they have more mass to them). & that's not even talking about the armor bits yet. I can understand why they are $15
They've asked $10 for similarly-scaled 2-packs in the past... and they all shelfwarmed something fierce! The potential for a scaled collection is pretty interesting, though it'd be better at this point to release Voyagers for Optimus and Grimlock instead. Here you'll have to re-buy nearly the entire main cast -- which is probably exactly what Hasbro's hoping for, but eck.
You'll have to rebuy Strong Arm, Sideswipe and Bee, but the deluxe Prime, Grimlock, and Megatronus are already in scale. Probably Thunderhoof, too, if he's heavy-duty farm equipment.
You can also clip the star weapon so that it is perpendicular to the handle. There is a notch which helps guide where you can attach it. This way it becomes spikes that radiate away from the base of the weapon.
I'm having loads of fun fiddling with the armor. My only wish for these sets is for the armor to have a way to clip on in vehicle mode, too. Minor quibble, though; the set is still worth the price of admission.
Found this and the Optimus set today. Man, Sideswipe is a very fun figure! My only complaint is that the hood doesn't lock into place in bot mode and seems to just flop around. Not a deal breaker, but something I wish would be better. The armor is a lot of fun, but more impressive as a huge weapon. I just wish the claws were symmetrical instead of one with two and one with three. The minicon is rubbish.
Yeah, I wish there a decent way to secure the hood flush with his back but on mine I minimize the floppiness by clicking in the windshield but hood rests at an angle off the back though. other than that I'd say he's a good & fun figure.
Mine doesn't seem to flop. Out of the box the hood hung lower, but I angled it up so it is flush against the back.
